Steel

I have done my first still frame, and am now looking to paint it...i was wondering if i left any of the steel bare (no paint covering it), can i just put the clear coat on top and it will be fine? or will it rust..?

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I think this has come up before...

Clearcoats tend to be a little porous. It's a combination of their polymer chemistry and the fact you're not going to be putting down two coats of primer, three coats of paint and then your lacquer layer...

If you can give the frame a damned good going over with fine emery cloths and find yourself some oxalic acid to wash the frame in (you can buy it to make up with water from some hardware shops - although I'm not sure which ones to recommend on your side of the pond), then that's the best possible start you can give raw steel for a clearcoat.

Then:

PUT LOTS OF LACQUER ON. In as many fine layers as you can ;-)

But the short answer is, it's far more likely to discolour and rust with just clearcoat than it is with primer and paint as well..

"While my father fought for you, I learnt. While my father glorified your petty administration, I learnt. While he longed every day for our line, Adunís line, to be restored, I learnt. He sent me away to bring the Dark Templar back when the time was right!
"And you tell me that I cannot do this? That I cannot feel the weight of the universe?
"Damn you, Tellan! Aldaris killed my father!"

I didn't have any longterm success with clear coat over bare steel. best I got was about a year before it began staining under the clear coat. Finally I gave up on making repairs and did a proper paint and clearcoat. I used Audi paint color " Aluminum Silver" ( code LY7M) which looks a lot like clear coated bare aluminum. If you were to squint your eyes while drunk you might think it is clear coated steel.

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Is the stuff retailed as wood bleach pure oxalic? Or does it have some other stuff mixed in there? I'd recommend actually buying it from a schools/colleges/universities/research chemical supplies wholesaler, but you're gonna get stiffed for the cost of it.

The reason I'm suggesting oxalic is because you get a degree of passivation of the steel, without generating black iron oxide (magnetite), which is anodic to the steel underneath and while it protects the steel, it does so only until it's scratched - then it accelerates the corrosion.

"While my father fought for you, I learnt. While my father glorified your petty administration, I learnt. While he longed every day for our line, Adunís line, to be restored, I learnt. He sent me away to bring the Dark Templar back when the time was right!
"And you tell me that I cannot do this? That I cannot feel the weight of the universe?
"Damn you, Tellan! Aldaris killed my father!"

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Good idea :-)

"While my father fought for you, I learnt. While my father glorified your petty administration, I learnt. While he longed every day for our line, Adunís line, to be restored, I learnt. He sent me away to bring the Dark Templar back when the time was right!
"And you tell me that I cannot do this? That I cannot feel the weight of the universe?
"Damn you, Tellan! Aldaris killed my father!"

Is the stuff retailed as wood bleach pure oxalic? Or does it have some other stuff mixed in there? I'd recommend actually buying it from a schools/colleges/universities/research chemical supplies wholesaler, but you're gonna get stiffed for the cost of it.

Here in the states the primary industrial use for oxalic is in paper making . The oxalic bleaches the pulp to make white paper so it is known as " wood bleach".
I don't think the hardware stores sell it, But I have bought oxalic acid from industrial paint suppliers to bleach stains out of oak flooring

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Originally Posted by velonomad

Here in the states the primary industrial use for oxalic is in paper making . The oxalic bleaches the pulp to make white paper so it is known as " wood bleach".
I don't think the hardware stores sell it, But I have bought oxalic acid from industrial paint suppliers to bleach stains out of oak flooring

I shall remember that... cheers :-)

"While my father fought for you, I learnt. While my father glorified your petty administration, I learnt. While he longed every day for our line, Adunís line, to be restored, I learnt. He sent me away to bring the Dark Templar back when the time was right!
"And you tell me that I cannot do this? That I cannot feel the weight of the universe?
"Damn you, Tellan! Aldaris killed my father!"